The Princess's Knight
by AWolfAmongSwans
Summary: AU. Princess Emma has always found the royal life to be rather dull, but when a Huntsman joins the knights she finds her world becoming much more interesting. Is this Huntsman all he seems to be or does he have some secrets he's hiding?
1. The New Knight

**A/N: This is an AU so keep in mind that it won't be following everything on the show exactly to the T but it will for the most part. For the sake of this story Emma is in her late teens/early twenties. The first few chapters will be a bit short but they'll get longer as the story continues.**

* * *

Life in the kingdom wasn't as exciting as one would think, at least Emma didn't think so. See she was a princess, the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. But despite that she never felt like the role of princess really suited her. She'd much rather be going on wild adventures and traipsing across the vast lands all around her.

Her mother said it was possible to do both, she had even claimed to have gone on many adventures back in her day. Emma was never quite sure if that was true or whether that was just an attempt to make her feel better. She often felt she didn't quite fit in the way she should here.

Speaking of her mother, the two were just getting back from their weekly horseback ride around the castle grounds. They made their way down the castle halls dressed in riding gear and boots. Emma much preferred this clothing over her fancy gowns she was usually forced to wear.

Despite enjoying the ride as she usually did, it always felt much like the same thing all the time. Nothing ever seemed to feel like it changed much around here. She would walk past the same halls with the same people everyday, same old same old.

But this time there was something new that caught her attention, an unfamiliar face in the castle. Amongst the knights that had congregated in the hall was a young man not much older than her, tall, with wild brown curls and a rather scruffy face. Her mother, noticing her daughter had suddenly stopped walking, looked over to where her she was now staring at.

"Who's that?" Emma asked turning back towards her mother. Pausing a moment, Snow remembered something that her husband had brought up the other day, "Your father mentioned something about a new knight, that must be him."

Becoming a knight was a very difficult task, it was quite rare to get a new one joining the ranks very often. One must be incredibly skilled in the art of combat to become one. Most knights were older fellows, usually in there late 20's or 30's. Many of which came from noble families so there were some who carried an air of entitlement about them which Emma wasn't fond of.

But then again, there were also a few older gentleman among them, most who had been quite skilled back in their day but now stuck around more for their knowledge or simply as a thing of honor. They were in peaceful times after all so there wasn't much fighting to be done.

Her father James, or Charming as her mother had both teasingly and lovingly nicknamed him many years ago, was standing before the group of knights. Noticing his wife and daughter, he waved them over to where he was.

"My darling Snow and Emma. I'd like to introduce you to the newest knight to join the rankings. He is a huntsman with some very impressive skills." The young man bowed his head to the two of them. It was actually customary for a knight to bow fully to ones knee before the royal family. This amused Emma that he didn't follow the proper tradition, the other knights however were not so amused over it and gave him a nudge from behind as he fell into the rightful position. Annoyance flickered across his face a moment before returning to its blank state.

"We thank you for your allegiance in protecting us and the kingdom good knight." Snow said with a small graceful bow towards him. Emma followed in suite with a similar gesture, though hers was much less graceful than that of her mother's.

When he stood back up Emma made eye contact with him for the first time, his blue eyes were intense and almost wild in nature. She'd never seen anyone with eyes like that before. It sent a small chill up her spine.

Once the introduction was over, James turned back towards the knights. "That will be all gentleman, you may return to your training." And with a flick of his wrist the knights dissipated and returned to what they had been doing prior.

As Emma and Snow headed back to their rooms to change, Snow gave her daughter a small nudge on the arm. "He's kind of cute isn't he?" A tinge of red crept into Emma's cheeks at that statement but she quickly covered it with a scoff. "Who the knight? Please, of course not." Snow grinned largely as she watched her daughter squirm, it wasn't often she got to see her react like that. "Just an observation." Snow said smoothly as she tried to hide her amusement from her now annoyed daughter.

~~~~ooooo~~~~

"Was the first part of your mission successful?"

"Yes, I succeeded in joining the knights."

"Excellent. And you do remember what you are supposed to do, correct? You get me what I want and in return you will get to keep the thing you want."

"I understand."


	2. The Man Without A Name

**A/N: I'm so happy to see you guys like the idea for this story! Much thanks to all of you. We'll delve more into the conversation that took place at the end of chapter 1 during chapter 3. For now here is chapter 2 for you guys. **

* * *

It's another boring day around the castle and because of this Emma intends to sneak out into the forest today. Despite her age, she's not supposed to leave the castle grounds on her own, so she has to sneak out the back entrance to get away with it. However her plans are quickly cut short as her father spots her as he comes around the corner, with the new knight following close behind him.

James smiled upon seeing his daughter. "Ah Emma, good. I was showing our new knight around the castle but I just received a message that I'm needed elsewhere. Would you care to show him around the castle so he can get better acquainted with it?"

Emma made a face, rather disappointed. "So you want me to play tour guide?" James gave her a suspicious look. "Were you planning on going somewhere else?" He knew full well his daughter loved to sneak out whenever she could. It was safe for him to assume that was probably what she had intended to do prior to his request. Charming had realized early on his daughter was a lot like Snow in many respects.

Swallowing hard for a moment, she shook her head. "Nope. No plans." Her father gave an approving nod "Good, I'll be off then." And with that he left. Emma let out a loud sigh, there went her plans. Making a waving motion towards the knight she instructed, "Alright follow me."

As she shows him about the place he makes virtually no comments about anything he sees making for an extremely quiet tour. After a while of this she turns to him and says "Not a big talker are you?" He of course simply shakes his head, causing her to sigh once again.

This huntsman turned knight is a very strange one indeed. He's not so much cold as he is distant. It seems as if he's never been around people before or something. She can't seem to crack him, which she finds odd seeing as she's always been great at reading people.

After an extended bout of silence, it's then that a loud gurgling noise breaks the quiet. Emma can't help but stifle a laugh. It's coming from the huntsman's stomach. "Hungry?" She asks him, grinning slightly. He shrugs sheepishly and it seems like for the first time he's actually lightened up a little. "Follow me."

The kitchen is quite large and there are foods of various types all spread out on the counter. The cook is busy in the back of the room extremely focused on something in a pot, completely oblivious to the fact that the two of them are even in there.

"Grab whatever you like." Emma tells him as she too grabs something for herself. Of all the fancy gourmet food available, he grabs a small plate of slightly sweetened crackers to eat.

She finds it interesting that he simply goes for something so basic. If any other person was given the opportunity at such a selection they would have no doubt picked something expensive and lavish. It's refreshing actually.

Next on the castle tour she decides to show him her room, not that it's really necessary for him to know. But she figures she might as well. "This is my room by the way. This will likely be the first and last to you see it." She chuckles a bit as she says it.

He quietly nibbles on some crackers as he takes in the young princess's room. "So... huntsman. Do you have a name?" The huntsman shakes his head "No." he says quietly. Emma tilts her head rather confused by that answer. "What do you mean no? Everyone has a name." But once again he simply shakes his head "I don't."

She not quite sure what to think of this odd situation. It wasn't exactly everyday that you met a person without a true name of sorts. "Well I can't just call you the huntsman now can I? Would you mind if I gave you a name then?" The ever unchatty knight gave a shrug in response. No surprise there.

"Hm..." Emma gives him the once over in trying to decide a name for him. He had plenty of distinguishing characteristics but she can't quite come up with anything based on that. It isn't until he takes another bite of his cracker that something clicks.

"Well since you seem to have such an affinity for those little crackers there, how about I call you Graham? Are you okay with that?" He looks up at her and gives a slight nod "Whatever you wish princess." It's the first time he's referred to her that way or in anyway actually, she isn't quite sure how she feels about that. "You can just call me Emma." She tells him.

"Well, it's settled then. I'll call you Graham." He looked like a Graham she thought to herself. The now newly named huntsman smiled a tiny bit at the name. He'd never had one before, so there an odd sense of pleasure in being called by one for the first time.


	3. Curtsies and Agendas

**A/N: Alright guys here's the next chapter. Thanks to all those who've been interested in the story! Now without further ado, chapter 3**.

A week had already passed since the arrival of the new knight, who Emma now called Graham, had first come to the castle. Which meant it was once again her weekly horseback ride around the castle grounds with her mother. The two weren't far from the home when Snow said, "So, you and that new knight seem to be getting along well."

Ever since Emma had started referring to him as Graham the two had started to interact more. Whenever she would get bored and he wasn't busy, she'd see what he was up to. And though their conversations rarely ever lasted for more than a few minutes they were fun for her.

She enjoyed being around someone her own age who wasn't some snotty stuck up child of a royal, the likes of which she usually had to deal with. But to be fair, not all of them were like that. For example Cinderella and Thomas's daughter Alexandra is quite nice, but is excessively girly so the two never really have much to talk about.

Much to Graham's own surprise he doesn't mind her company either. Which he hadn't expected to be honest. There have even been times where he has spoken sentences consisting of more than just a few words to her. But she's the only one who he really speaks to. When it comes to people Graham is otherwise a loner for the most part.

Snow caught up to her daughter and their horses were now side by side. Emma shrugged in response to her mother's comment "I guess. I'm just trying to help him adjust." Snow gave an all knowing nod "Right…" Emma rolled her eyes. Her mother had always fancied herself as someone who could tell early on when romance was in the works for two people. Whether she was right or not only time would tell.

They returned their horses back to the stable. Snow decides to stay behind to tend to them for a little while before heading back. "Emma," Her mother calls just as her daughter is about to leave "It's nice to see you enjoying yourself." Emma gives her a small hidden smile before leaving.

As she enters the castle she spots Graham coming down the hallway. "Hey." Emma greets him with a slight wave. He nods acknowledging her presence as she approaches.

"How come you're never in the Knights Hall with the other knights?" She asks him. Graham gives a shrug "I just… I prefer to be elsewhere." His voice holds a tone of distance to it suddenly. She feels like he's not telling her something, but she doesn't press the matter. "Well I was just on my way to go change, I have studies in couple of minutes, but if you want to wait around you can."

He decides he might as well, he doesn't have anywhere else to be at the moment. As Graham leans up against the wall of the castle waiting, a man he's never seen before passes by with a cane. The air around him suddenly feels chilled and he stiffens up.

At first the man appears to just walk past him but then he stops and looks back at Graham. His gaze makes him shift uncomfortably, he feels like this man can see every secret he's ever had. Even as if he could see right through him."Things that are hidden are often still in plain sight dearie. I'd be careful of which crowd you run with."

His words leave Graham uneasy as the older gentleman proceeds back down the hall. It's right then that Emma exits the room she was just in. She's now dressed in rather casual blue dress that offsets her eyes, with her hair pulled up in a ponytail.

"Wh-Who was that?" Graham asks her pointing to the man at the end of the hall, he's still a bit shaken up by the mysterious fellow and it shows in his voice. "Oh him? That's Rumpelstiltskin. He's an advisor for my father. I heard he was once a powerful man of magic, but he wound up losing his powers one way or another I forget how. To be honest though, sometimes I think my father made him an advisor just so he could keep an eye on him."

Emma gives a casual shrug and Graham swallows hard while doing his best to forget about what had just been said to him. He loosens the collar of his leather mail beneath his armor and adjusts the necklace sitting underneath it.

She stretches her limbs which are still a little sore from riding earlier. "Any chance you wanna help me ditch?" She jokes trying to find any reason she can to get out of going to her lessons.

Suddenly someone loudly clears their throat and Graham looks around trying to find where it came from. It's then he suddenly sees something bouncing up and down out of the corner of his eye. Its a cricket.

"Hello Jiminy." Emma says with a sigh. She can already feel that a lecture is coming on. "That's Professor Jiminy." He corrects before going in to lecture mode, just like she knew he would. "Princess Emma you must partake in your studies. It's for the good of the kingdom that you do so. You must learn how to become a proper princess."

A "proper princess", she hated that term. Who were they to define what a proper princess was. She hated being pigeon holed into certain peoples definition of the term. Whether she was a proper one or not, no one questioned that Emma truly cared for her kingdom.

"I should be going into town with the villagers and learning that way, not learning how to perfect my curtsy." Emma stated trying to restrain the irritation in her voice.

Jiminy gave a frustrated sigh. "On top of that you were late, yet again." The cricket pointed out.

"That isn't the best quality in a princess." Graham commented in a teasing manner, catching Emma completely off guard.

She scoffs, "Your ganging up on me too now?" And for just a small moment he chuckles a little. Her eyes go wide in shock "Was that a laugh I just heard?" Emma asks, raising a quizzical eyebrow at him. This was the first time she'd ever seen him laugh. She wasn't he sure he was capable of it actually. Graham shakes his head pulling his quiet act again. Emma sighs and she moves past it.

"Well we should be going." Jiminy says as he taps his umbrella against the floor. "Bye Graham." Emma calls over he shoulder as she unenthusiastically follows behind the insect.

As Graham stands there, Snow approaches from behind and stands beside him as the two watch Emma follow her teacher down the hallway.

"She may not seem like it but, Emma is a lonely girl. Friendship doesn't come easy for her. She's very closed off." Snow quietly tells him, her eyes still on her daughter.

Placing a hand as his shoulder for a moment, she adds "Don't hurt her." before making her way down the hall past him. He casts his eyes down towards to ground and shuts them for a moment, thinking back to what he came here to do.

~~~~oooooooo~~~~~~~

A group of guards roughly lead the Huntsman down a long dark corridor to the Queen's throne room. They give him a slight shove as they release him before her. With a flick of her wrist the guards left them alone.

"Why am I here?" The Huntsman asks looking around the large room. He had suddenly been dragged out of the woods by a group of the Queen's men and taken to her castle.

The Queen sits atop her throne, taping the arm of the chair with her fingernail as she speaks. "I'm here to make you an offer."

He sneers at her statement "And why would I ever make a deal with the likes of you?" The Huntsman had heard much of the Queen's reputation, none of which was good.

She's taken aback by what he says and her words are now coated in sheer annoyance "Is that how you treat someone kind enough to offer you something you want. Quite the animal aren't you, where are your manners?" He sends a sharp glare in her direction at the comment.

"And how would you know what I want?" The Huntsman asks her coldy.

"It's quite obvious to tell what you want just by looking at you really. I have something here that will help you with that." The Queen reaches down beside her and grabs a peculiar looking necklace from the table. She then tosses it to him and he starts to examine it. The necklace is by no means an ordinary one, that he can tell.

"Interested now?" She says with a rather pleased grin. He doesn't answer but she can tell the curiosity is there and that's all she needs to continue.

The Queen went on to explain. "I am in need of someone to infiltrate the castle of Snow White and Prince Charming by posing as a knight to learn the location of a particular room for me. A room that houses various magical objects within it. But don't bother searching for it on your own, only a member of the royal family can access the room."

After taking in what she's said he asks her, "But why ask me? Surely one of your men would be much more suitable for such a thing." The Huntsman didn't trust this woman in the slightest, but the prospect of what this necklace could offer left him considering.

A smirk plays across her face "Because I need someone skilled and heartless enough to perform one more addition task." The words stung a little but he chose not to let that show. It wouldn't have been the first time someone called him that. It's not like he hadn't been called worse either.

"I want you to bring me the heart of Snow White's daughter. If you can do this I will let you keep that." The Queen informs him as she points to the necklace in his hands. Sternly she then adds, "But don't even think of running off without finishing my task, because I **will** find you if you do."

The Huntsman thinks over the proposal for a minute. Given the Queen's reputation he's not even all to sure if he can decline her offer. She didn't seem like the kind to take no for an answer after all. "But if I do this, I would like one more thing in return."

She raises an eyebrow at him, somewhat surprised by the request. "Oh?"

"The hunting of wolves, I want you to outlaw that as well." He could only protect what was left of his wolf family so much, the promise of their safety when this was all said and done would be a huge relief to him.

The Queen shrugs "I'm a reasonable woman, since I asked two things of you it's only fair I offer the same in return. Well then, do we have a deal?"


	4. Qualities Of A Leader

**A/N: To be honest, I almost scrapped this chapter all together because it was giving me so much trouble. But I needed it to set up some things for the next chapter. This chapter wound up being bit more Emma centric than I intended but whatever. On the bright side, because this to took me so long to finish, Chapter 5 is almost already done, which is actually my favorite chapter I've done so far.**

**Once again thanks to all of you lovely readers for sticking with my story! It is very much appreciated.**

* * *

"Emma, your father and I were just looking for you." Snow called to her daughter from the doorway as Emma was walking down the hall. She then proceeded to follow her mother into the study.

As she stood there, Emma started thinking back to see if she had done anything wrong, because usually this is where these conversations tended to lead. Much to her surprise it wasn't the case this time.

"This weekend we're going to visit Frederick and Abigail." Her father announced as he stood up from the chair he had been sitting in previously.

Emma was actually rather fond of Frederick and Abigail. She even referred to them as Aunt Abigail and Uncle Frederick because of how close they were with her parents. The two ruled over a nearby kingdom a couple of towns over.

Emma and her parents didn't get to visit them as much as they used to but there was one thing in particular she really enjoyed when visiting them. Frederick being the skilled swordsman he was, would give her lessons on sword fighting from time to time, though her parents never knew about it.

She nodded in response to their statement. "But we'll mostly be discussing kingdom related things our first day there, just so you know." Charming informed her.

"Anything I can partake in?" Emma asked, though she already knew the answer to this one, for it was the same answer every time.

"Sorry Emma, your still a bit to young to be involved in the politics among kingdoms." Her father said once again, as he shook his head.

"But you can always hang out with their son Alfred." James suggested to her.

Emma look appalled at the suggestion, practically gagging in response. There was one thing in particular she dreaded about visiting them, and that was their son Alfred. She couldn't stand the prince, he was by far the most egotistical spoiled royal she had ever met in her entire life. How people such as Abigail and Frederick wound up with a son like him made virtually no sense.

"Can't I just come up and meet you guys on the second day?" Emma pleaded. The last thing she wanted to do was spend the whole day with Alfred. She was already coming up with ways to get out of it if that turned out to be the case. Faking a cold seemed like the easiest solution.

Snow knew full well how much Emma disliked Alfred, to be honest she herself wasn't to fond of the boy either though she'd never admit it. Which was why she approved of her daughter's suggestion. "I think that's a good idea."

"Really?' Father and daughter asked simultaneously as they looked at Snow. She nodded. "Yes. Emma is old enough to stay at the castle by herself. There will be plenty of guards to ensure her safety. But there will be some ground rules." Snow said firmly.

Emma frowned instantly. "You are not to leave the castle grounds," Snow sighed before adding, "But... if for any reason you do find yourself in a situation where you have to, there must be a guard with you at all times. Do you understand?" Emma nodded. Snow knew better than to try and keep her daughter restricted to much.

James seemed like he was going to argue otherwise but a sharp look from Snow left him rather defeated so he finally agrees. Emma grins widely "Thank you!" She exclaims.

Charming sighs. "Where do you get all your stubbornness from?" From behind him Snow mouths out "Your father." Emma tries to suppress a laugh as James turns around to look at his wife who is now suddenly playing innocent.

~~~~~~oooo~~~~~

The next morning arrived and Emma said goodbye to her parents. "Now Emma, we expect you bright and early tomorrow morning." Snow reminded her daughter. Emma nodded in agreement, "I know." She hugged them both and waved to them as their carriage started down the path.

Emma was almost never was left to her own devices while her parents were away. Maybe this meant that they were finally starting to trust her more. Now that she had the freedom to do what she liked she actually wasn't sure what to do.

As much as Emma wanted to get out of the castle as soon as she could, the fact that her parents had trusted her enough to leave her alone made her rethink the idea. With little to no work today for the help, she decides checks out what the various staff of the castle are doing.

A few knights are practice fighting in the courtyard, but when Emma goes to watch them, they tell her it's best a princess not watch this sort of thing. Next she tries the cleaning staff who are playing a game with dice but when Emma shows interest in playing, they tell her it's but a simple peasant game that the princess needn't waste her time playing. She lets out a sigh.

Despite the castle still being full of people, she somehow feels oddly alone. It's then she wonders where Graham might be, she hasn't seen him yet this morning. Emma decides to check out the Knight's Hall to see if he might be there. As she heads down the stone staircase the voices of two knights stop her from going any farther. They appear to be having a conversation.

"So what do you think of the new guy?" The first knight asks the other. "He's skilled I'll give him that but what a weirdo. I hear he was raised by animals or something." The other knight snorts. "If it's true that explains his personality."

It's then Emma finally understands why Graham is rarely ever in the Knight's Hall. Because they treat him like an outsider, like he doesn't belong. She hates the way their speaking about him, but since she's eavesdropping she can't exactly confront them.

Emma is about to leave when she hears them suddenly mention her. "The princess has taken a liking to him." The second knight says to the other. "No surprise there, she's always taking in strays."

When Emma was younger she'd often take in stray injured animals she'd find around the castle grounds until they healed up, much to the annoyance of many castle dwellers. The animals tended to wreak havoc about the place at times. Once, a deer got loose and knocked over numerous ornate vases throughout the castle.

Her parents never minded that Emma took them in, they themselves were rather fond of animals. After all, James was once a shepherd and Snow had spent much time in the forest herself. It's just that the two of them spent much of their time apologizing to the various staff members for the messes the animals would cause.

"It's hard to believe she's the one who will be leading the kingdom at some point. She's not exactly Queen material." The other man lets out a hearty laugh "Tell me about it!"

Their words hit her hard as they sink in. Did everyone really think that about her? That she was unfit to be Queen one day? She started to wonder if that maybe her entire life people had just been appeasing her and that they never truly believed she'd be a capable ruler someday.

Fists clenched, she storms up the stairs and down the hallway, blowing right past Graham and nearly knocking him over in the process. "Princess?" He calls, drawing her out of her focus. "I told you call me Emma!" She snaps. That last thing she wants to be called right now is princess.

Realizing what she's done, she lets out a sigh before apologizing. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. I was just… It's nothing." Emma knows better not to care about what some guards think of her but she still finds herself hurt and angry over their comments. Whether she acts like it or not she wants to be a good leader for her kingdom.

He tilts his head some as he looks at her "Are you sure?" She nods feverishly "Yeah I just, need to get out or something." Irritation is still pulsing through her. Part of her wants to run or just hit something.

"I think I know somewhere that might help."

Next thing she knows they're headed into the woods. Emma walks out ahead as Graham trails behind her some. She's practically running but he doesn't have a problem keeping up. Branches and leaves brush against her as she rushes past them, she's far to annoyed to even care though.

He doesn't press her on what's wrong, he knows she'll talk when she's ready. Asking her again before then would only make things worse.

After a good few minutes she finally stops and sighs. "Do you… do you think I'm a joke? That I'm an unfit princess?" Emma asks as she turns back to look at him. She shifts nervously waiting for a response. For her to react like this he realizes that must be a constant fear of hers.

Graham stops and looks at her, then shakes his head. "No. You have the most important quality that a ruler should have, that you care for the people of your kingdom. Without that quality, only then is someone unfit." He tells her gently.

Emma smiles and suddenly all her built up tension vanishes. She can tell he's not just saying that to appease her like other people would, he genuinely means it. Graham doesn't treat her like everyone else does. She feels like she can be herself around him. That she doesn't have to be Princess Emma, she can just be Emma.

As she breathes in the fresh air she feels even more relaxed. The scent of trees and flowers grace her nose. She's come out to the woods many times but she's never really noticed just how nice it truly is. Normally she's to busy exploring it to actually appreciate the serenity of it all.

"Why did you take me here?" Emma asks him out of curiosity. He looks around the forest before answering "This is my world. I grew up in these woods. I've always found them a good place to be to release your tensions."

The sound of rustling leaves suddenly becomes apparent as Emma looks around her. From a nearby bush, a white wolf with one red eye and one black eye emerges from it.

"Woah! Is that a Wolf?" She involuntarily moved closer to Graham as the creature approached them. Graham let out a small laugh, but reassured her "He won't hurt you, he's a friend." Emma hesitantly reached her hand out so that the animal could smell her scent. It looked over at Graham who nodded and the wolf then proceeded to rub it's head into the palm of her hand.

"Is he yours?" She asked turning back towards him. Graham paused before answering "Not exactly." He's chooses not to elaborate further on the matter. Most people don't take to kindly to a person being raised by wolves. Though she probably wouldn't judge him for it, he finds he doesn't want to tell her and take that risk. He finds that her opinion of him matters to him for some reason.

Emma scratches the wolf behind the ear and animal starts to wag his tail. "I think he likes you." He tells her. She laughs "I think he does too!"

Graham whistles and wolf makes his way over to him. He pats the creature on the head and throws him a few scraps of food he's been keeping in his satchel. The wolf scarfed it up in a matter of seconds. Kneeling down in front of him, Graham tells the animal "Be safe." as the wolf then returns back into the forest.

After wandering around for a bit, Emma then mentions "I have a spot back at the castle where I like to get away from it all too. Want to see?"

They head back to the castle where Emma leads him to the second floor down a long seemingly empty hallway. She suddenly stops midway down the hall and faces the wall beside her. Then Emma placed her hand on the wall between two candle holders that hung there. The spot where she touched suddenly began to glow dimly and the wall begins to lift up revealing a large staircase. Graham was a bit taken a back by the spectacle. She waved for him to follow her.

"What is this place?" Graham asks looking around as they descend down a long winding staircase. Despite it being dark Emma has no problem finding her way down the steps. After a minute they finally reach the bottom of the stairs and are now in a large somewhat dusty room.

"This is where we store our magical objects. Well... not all ours exactly. They're kept here so they won't wind up in the wrong hands again." Emma explains to him. She probably shouldn't be showing him this place but he doesn't strike her as the type to have much interest in the stuff. Not to mention even if he did, he can't access it without a member of the royal family.

Its then Graham realizes this must be the place that the Queen was referring to. He's finally found the room she needed him to find, which now meant he will soon have to complete the other task he was sent here to do. Cutting out Snow White's daughter's heart, Emma's heart. Graham finds his stomach briefly twist some at the idea.

Her voice shakes him from his thoughts. "But I don't come here for that. I come here for this." She walks towards the back of the room and pushes aside a pair of long sweeping burgundy curtains to reveal a huge glass window. Light from the outside filters in and illuminates the once dark room.

Stepping forward he peers out it to find a beautiful vast landscape that is the entire kingdom. He grew up in the forest so he never really saw much beyond that, so to see not only the woods but the whole kingdom in all it's glory was quite the sight to behold.

"Makes you feel small doesn't it?" Emma says to him, he nods in response. As she stared out, she realizied that one day she would be ruling all of that. She'd have to show all those who doubted her abilities just how wrong they were, and she'd make the people who believed in her like Graham proud.


	5. A Royal Pain

**A/N: So here we have chapter 5. This was actually one of my favorite chapters to writer so far. Once again thanks so much to all of you lovely readers, I really appreciate you guys checking out my story and sticking with it. **

* * *

The morning arrived where Emma was supposed to meet up with her parents at Abigail and Frederick's castle. The white horse drawn carriage stood waiting just outside the castle gates. It was extremely early and Emma was still fairly tired, she never was much of a morning person.

Being the independent girl she was, Emma declined the offers of help into the carriage from the other knights. Two knights made their way to the front of the vehicle to drive the horses, while the other knight headed towards the back. Graham went to go take his place in walking beside the carriage when Emma stuck her head out the door. "Hey you!" She called out, with a teasing smile on her face as she pointed at him. "Ride in here with me."

Graham raised an eyebrow in surprise not having expected that. It was a bit of a long trip so Emma thought she could use a little company. Graham ducked under the doorway and took a seat inside.

During the beginning of the ride Emma went on to explain how Abigail and Frederick weren't really her aunt and uncle, but that she called them that since they were such close friends of the family. She told him of how her father and Abigail were once in engaged due to an arranged marriage but were in love with other people. Mid way through Emma found herself yawning still fairly tired.

Once she was finished, it got quiet between the two of them aside from the few yawns that escaped Emma's mouth every few minutes. Graham had started to zone out a bit during the silence as he watched the scenery outside fly by. He's not even really sure how or when it happened, but she even wound up sitting beside him at one point.

As Graham stared out the window in deep thought, he suddenly felt something against his shoulder. Turning to see what it was, he found Emma quietly dozing with her head against his shoulder. He chuckled a bit at the sight. She always had so much energy it was hard to believe she ever actually slept.

As he shifted his other arm his hand grazed the dagger at his side, which sent the reminder of what he was supposed to do creeping back into his mind, leading him to let out a sigh. He had already learned the location of the room that the Queen was looking for, all that was left now was securing the heart of the girl beside him. If he really wanted to, this would have been a golden opportunity to do just that. With only 3 guards to deal with, it would have been no problem at all. Along with the fact that they were traveling through the forest, which had always been his domain, made the task even easier to accomplish.

But for some reason he chose to ignore the opportunity before him and instead pushed the thought aside. Shutting his eyes, he decided to follow in suit of the young princess beside him. As the carriage came to a stop Graham awoke and gently gave Emma a shake. "We're here."

The two made their way inside of the palace and found young man with strawberry blonde hair standing there, waiting impatiently in the center of the room. His foot tapping rapidly against the stone floors below him.

"Alfred." Emma greeted in utter annoyance upon seeing the young prince. "Your late." He responded without so much as even greeting her. Actually they weren't late, it was just that the Prince was sick of waiting around for their arrival. Alfred noticed Graham standing behind her and gave him the once over. "What do you have a body guard now?" She didn't even designate a response to that, she didn't feel like dealing with him.

He strode up to Graham and got dangerously close to his face. The prince's eyes landed on the necklace around his neck, which Graham usually kept under his armor but had forgotten to tuck it in this time. "Nice jewelry you got there knight. Steal if from an old lady?"

Graham let out a low snarl. "This coming from the man wearing a crown." Alfred snickered in amusement. "Oh look at the animal growl." The sudden tension between the two was overpowering.

"Enough!" Emma said coming between them and standing protectively in front of Graham. "Back off Alfred. I mean it." Her glare was so sharp it could have cut through metal, he smirked in response. "Hmph. Your little princess won't be able to protect you next time." With that he started walking towards a set of doors on the other side of the room.

"Your parents are in the royal seating room along with mine. Better get moving." Alfred informed her, then shot Graham a look of annoyance before heading through the doors towards the main hall.

Emma put a gentle hand on Graham's arm for a moment, "Maybe it would be best if you just stayed back here for now. We'll meet up later alright?" He nodded as Emma made her way through the doors. The funny thing was without Emma around Graham wasn't sure what to do, they were in someone else's castle after all so he couldn't exactly do what he normally did. Instead he decided to go check on the horses from the carriage.

She didn't even bother to wait for the guard to announce her arrival, she just hurriedly made her way in to the seating room. Emma made sure to lift her dress off the ground some as she did so, to prevent herself from tripping. As she arrived, she found her parents mid conversation with their friends. They looked up upon seeing her enter the room.

"Emma! It's been so long since we last saw you. You've grown up so much!" Abigail exclaimed with a pleasant smile as she embraced the girl. "It's great to see you both." Emma told her and Frederick cheerfully as she stepped back. "Don't you think it's great to see me too? Especially considering how great I look." Alfred said with a narcissistic grin on his face.

Emma rolled her eyes at the comment and had to bite her tongue to stop herself from making a snide remark. She may not have had the best manners in the kingdom, but she knew better not to insult someone's son right in front of them.

"Alfred be nice." Frederick warned his son. The Prince let out a dramatic sigh in response "Yes father." Both Abigail and Frederick exchanged apologetic looks with their guests for there son's behavior.

"Was all safe getting here?" Charming asked Emma as he looked over his daughter to see if she was concealing any cuts or injuries. Though he trusted her, the adventurous nature she had could easily get her into some sticky situations.

Emma nodded "It was quiet and pretty uneventful." she went on to explain. After a moment Snow asked, "You fell asleep didn't you?" She knew full well her daughter wasn't a morning person so for her to say something was 'quiet and uneventful' without a hint of boredom in her tone meant she'd fallen asleep.

A tinge of pink crept into Emma's cheeks at the dead on guess. Sometimes her mother knew her far too well she had realized. Sensing the slight embarrassment, Snow quickly moved past the matter and told her with a relieved smile "We're just glad you made it here safe."

The rest of the day flew by rather quickly. Abigail spent time showing Snow and Emma her garden, while James and Frederick went for a ride on their horses, which being the competitive men they were, wound up racing a few times. Emma had even gotten in a little sword practice, which much to Frederick's surprise, found that she'd improved since her last visit there. Emma wouldn't admit to the fact that at times she would find objects around the castle to use as practice swords to keep up her skills.

Soon night fell and Snow, James, and Emma both retired to their respective rooms for the evening. Graham was rather restless and intended to go for a walk outside to calm his mind. However being unfamiliar with the castle, finding the exit was a little more time consuming than he had first expected.

As Graham made his way down the hall he spotted Alfred heading towards him. "Well would you look at who we have here, Princess Emma's knight. Actually I hear your a huntsman, not even a noble. So you really are the lowest of the low." For Emma's sake Graham resisted the urge to knock out the arrogant royal, though she probably would have approved of it to be honest. "What do you want?"

"Just making a little small talk with the help." He said with that stupid cocky smirk on his face. The young prince's arrogance practically seeped through his pores. "I can't believe Princess Emma actually enjoys speaking with the common folk. I shouldn't be that surprised though, she's a freak anyways."

Graham shoved Alfred hard up against the wall beside them. "Say what you will about me but you will not speak of Emma that way." An almost animalistic nature crept into his tone as he spoke, but Alfred just laughed. "You can pretend to play hero all you want huntsman, but your still nothing more than a commoner and because of that you'll never have a chance with her. Remember that." Graham let go of him and stepped back as the prince brushed himself off.

He was here to kill her not fall in love with her, why would he even suggest such a thing? But despite that, the Prince's words still stung for some reason and left him oddly bothered.

"Enjoy the rest of your night." He called over his shoulder. As Alfred left down the hall Graham suddenly heard the sound of clanking metal from behind him.

Morning had arrived and it was time for everyone to return back to their castle. Snow and Charming were already cozy in their carriage together, while Emma was also in hers. Her parents had let he sleep in a little so she wouldn't be falling asleep on the carriage ride back this time. She had once again asked Graham to join her for the ride, despite the overly protective glances her father sent their way upon hearing she had done so. But Snow was easily able to work her charms to get her husband to relax.

Graham got into the carriage after Emma and took a seat. She looked at him perplexed, "What's up with the helmet?" she asked him. "It's nothing." he answered quietly. Emma gave him a suspicious look "You hate to wear armor, especially your helmet. You never wear it when you don't have to. Something's up." She continued to stare it him making it clear she wasn't going to drop the matter.

Graham sighed and slowly removed the helmet. She let out a gasp as he did so, her expression changed to that of pity. He had a huge black eye. "Who did this to you?" She asked. "The Prince had his guards do it. They ganged up on me last night." Graham confessed to her.

Emma shot up from her seat enraged, "That's it! I'm fixing this, now!" "Emma wait!" He said grabbing her wrist before she could kick open the carriage door. "It's alright." She stood there and shook her head in dismay "No Graham, it's not alright. What they did to you, it wasn't right."

He tried to reassure her and get her to calm down, "It's okay, really." To be quite honest he was used to it. There were many other hunters who had tried similar things. He had come to expect that from people. To him people had always been these selfish and self serving creatures, it wasn't until he came to the castle that he started to think the might not be the case for all of them.

Despite wanting to tear Alfred a new one, Emma finally sat back down. She tilted her head a little to look at him "Does it hurt?" She asked and lightly tapped the injury with her finger. He winced, "A little." he answered before giving a light chuckle. "Sorry." She apologized.

Relaxing into her seat, Emma let out a sigh "I know you say you're alright, but I just... I care about you, ya know?" Graham seemed a bit shocked and puzzled by her statement. There was really someone who actually cared for him? No person had ever told him that before.

Surely his birth parents never did, nor did he have any human friends in the past which to speak of either. Only the wolves were the ones to show him any sense of caring, until her that is.

Graham smiled and stared down at the floor a little. "Thank you." He told her quietly. His appreciativeness catches her off guard and she can feel her cheeks getting a little warm. Emma clears her throat trying to cover it up.

"Okay Graham, don't get all sappy on me." She tells him as she stares out the window, avoiding eye contact with him. He chuckles slightly then nods, "Sorry."


	6. Decisions In The Night

**A/N: This chapter took a bit longer than expected and it's a bit shorter than the last few, but it's setting up for the very climactic chapter 7. That's the chapter you'll finally learn what's the deal with Graham's necklace. Quick reminder, since this is an AU, the reason for Graham's necklace isn't something canon to the show for him. (I tried going that route but it didn't quite sync up with the ending I had in mind.) But it still works in the realm of this story so hopefully you guys will like it.**

**Oh, and chapter 8 will probably be the last chapter of this story I think. But I have been contemplating a sequel so who knows. As always thanks to all of you amazing readers out there! I'm so happy to see you guys continuing to enjoy the story, so thank you!**

* * *

"Sneaking out?" Graham asks Emma as she jumps down from the trellis that scaled the castle wall. She freezes upon hearing his voice. Busted. He's wearing an amused grin on his face as he leans against the exterior of the building under the cover of darkness. Emma puts her hand to her chest and takes a relieved breath "Jeez, don't do that you scared me." A laugh escapes his lips as she playfully glares at him.

"Isn't it a bit late for you to be out by yourself?" Graham points out while raising a suspicious eyebrow. It was way past her curfew, not like that sort of thing would stop Emma though. "Don't be such a knight Graham." She teases.

It's times like these where he forgets he's not really a knight. That he's not supposed to actually care about her safety and well being. The problem is that he does. He wants to protect her and keep her safe.

Instead though, he's supposed to be the man who was sent here to kill her and take her heart. The one who's supposed to hurt her and cause her pain. Yet here he is, telling her to be careful about going out at night by herself. Graham is starting to find he much rather be the knight than the assassin.

"Where were you going?" He asks her. "Firefly Hill." She answers. "I've spent years reading about it in books and hearing stories from people about it for as long as I can remember. I want to finally see it for myself." Frankly, Emma was sick of hearing about all these wonderful amazing places she could never go to. This time she'd make sure to finally get to see one.

"Tonight's the last night that they come out for the year, so it has to be tonight. Want to come with me to see them?" She knew Graham wouldn't have stopped her from going anyway, he knew she could take care of herself if need be. But it'd probably be more fun if he came along for the trip. "You want me to come?" Emma nodded and he gave a shrug. "Alright."

Emma takes the lead and Graham trails close behind her. She had examined a map of the forest before sneaking out so she knew where to head, though drawings could only be so helpful compared to the actual thing. Graham was rather impressed by her navigation skills, especially at night.

"You said you grew up in the woods right, have you ever seen them before?" Emma asked looking over her shoulder at him as she walked. He shakes his head. "No I haven't." He did know of the place though, but Graham tended to avoid spots where people were known to gather. There was nothing to hunt in that area either so there was little point in going there then.

After much traveling they finally reach the clearing that overlooks the kingdom. When they reach the spot on the top of the hill Emma flops down in the grass onto her back. Graham takes a seat beside her, using his arms to prop himself up as he sits. The grass feels cool against his skin in the night air.

Emma's hair is down and her golden locks drape over her shoulders and onto her white dress. The strands of hair glow slightly under the light of the moon from up above them.

At first there isn't a firefly to be seen. But then suddenly one appears, and then another, then a massive group of them swarm the sky above them. Emma's eyes light up with excitement, she's never seen anything like it before. They almost looked as if they were dancing stars.

Graham and Emma sit there, quietly in awe for a while as they watch. The stories she'd heard were nothing compared to seeing it herself.

"They're amazing aren't they?" Emma finally says breaking the silence, as she stares up at the whirling fireflies above her head. "Yeah, they are." But Graham isn't looking at the bugs, he's looking at her as she smiles contently, watching in amazement at the sight. What was this he was feeling? This warmth in his chest that radiated throughout his body.

Aside from the wolves, Graham had practically spent his whole life without getting close to anyone. Emma was the first person he'd ever bonded with before. When he was around her, that lonely feeling he had tried to ignore his entire life wasn't there for the first time.

It was at that moment that he knew for certain that he couldn't do it, that he couldn't kill Emma. Deep down, a part of him knew long ago he wouldn't be able to go through with it. He could only lie and try to convince himself otherwise for so long. She meant far too much to him.

This meant later tonight Graham would have some decisions to make on what he was going to do. But for now he decided to just enjoy spending this moment with her as they watched the fireflies.

After a little while, they realize it's getting late so the two head back to the castle. But just before they part ways Emma smiles happily and tells him, "This was fun." "It's was." He agrees, returning the smile. The princess enjoys seeing him smile, it doesn't happen to often but when it does she's usually the one who gets him to. She waves him a goodnight and sneaks back to her room.

Graham returns to his quarters and sits on a nearby window ledge as he stares out into the night sky. He had decided that tomorrow night he would tell the Queen that he couldn't follow through with her plan. Staring down at his necklace for a moment, he lets out a sigh. The necklace, he'll have to give it back. Which meant even if the Queen didn't kill him for not doing his job that he still couldn't return to the castle.

But Emma was much more important than what this necklace gave him. He was willing to give it up, even if it meant he wouldn't be able to see her again. Because at least she would be alive and safe, which was what mattered to him most now.

Graham had never felt this way about someone before, he couldn't be in love with her could he? That would be crazy, she was a royal princess after all. While he on the other hand, was but a simple huntsman. Why would she ever love someone like him?

He thinks back to the conversation with the Evil Queen that took place this morning. Normally these meetings occurred during the night to avoid any attention. Graham would usually sneak out and meet the Queen at her castle to discuss his progress. But lately the urge to report back to her seemed more like an inconvenience as well as something he had simply grown to dislike.

"Where have you been? It's been two days since you last contacted me!" She shouted, slamming her hand roughly against the table in frustration. Graham flinched slightly but recovered quickly. "Things came up." He answers trying to hide the harshness in his voice.

She doesn't even bother to acknowledge his attempt at an explanation, she cuts straight to the point. "Have you at least found the room yet?" Graham was quiet before answering, "No." The Queen rolls her eyes in annoyance while muttering, "Useless, utterly useless." Why did he lie? Was he trying to buy time or just putting off doing the second deed all together?

The woman paces about the room impatiently. "This is taking much longer than I expected Huntsman. My patience with you is growing very thin." Venom practically seeps from her words. For a brief moment he almost doesn't even recognize being called Huntsman as a name, he'd grown so use to being referred to as Graham that the other word seemed odd to him now.

"It shouldn't take much longer." He answers, but his words hold no confidence. "It better not." The queen huffs as she sits on her chair near the fireplace. "You won't like what'll happen if you disappoint me Huntsman."

Her threat lingers in his mind even now. Graham lets out a sigh and heads for bed, he'll need the rest for what he plans to do tomorrow.

~~~~~oooooo~~~~~

The next morning arrives and Graham tries his best to avoid seeing Emma today, he doesn't want leaving to be any harder than it already is. But despite his best efforts she manages to track him down anyway. She's actually pretty good at tracking people down he's realized. "Hey I've been looking for you all day." Emma says looking up at him.

He does his best to avoid direct eye contact with her. "Sorry… I've been busy." Graham answers vaguely. He can't let his determination waiver, he has to keep his distance from her. Otherwise he'll want to stay, which would only put her in more danger. Graham was certain the Queen would make good on her promise to come after him should he keep the necklace and not complete her task. She'd no doubt include hurting Emma in that promise as well.

His sudden shift in personality puzzled her. He's acting like when she first met him, quiet and distant. The normally confident Emma starts questioning her actions the night before. Was it something she did or said? She had a great time last night, she thought he did to. Now she wasn't so sure.

Unsure what to do, she decides to leave him alone. "Well… I guess I'll see you around then." She says rather disappointed as she turns to leave. Graham sadly watches her go. It's for the best, he thinks to himself. Once Emma is out of earshot, he quietly says "Goodbye Emma."


	7. Secrets Revealed

**A/N: Here we have it, chapter 7. A lot goes down in this chapter but you'll finally get some answers to things you might have been wondering about. As I said last chapter, since this is AU, the reason for Graham's necklace isn't canon to the show. But it still works in the grand scheme of this story so it's a different twist.**

**Also, thank you all so much for the lovely reviews you've been leaving this story and to all the readers out there! It really means a lot to me and there's a fairly good chance of me doing a sequel to this thanks to your interest. I have a basic idea for it but I need to figure out where it's going in the long run. Either way chapter 8, the final chapter of this story will give enough closure should I not pursue a sequel but still plenty of room to continue the story should I decide to. Enough of my rambling, on to the story.**

* * *

As night fell, Graham left the castle under the cover of darkness. Leaving behind his metal armor, he took with him a hooded cloak that he still had from when he lived in the forest. Pulling the hood over his head, he gave one last look at the castle. A sad smile crossed his face just before he turned around and left.

The trek through forest seemed surprisingly quiet. Only the occasional songs of the crickets filled the night air. His mind wanders as he unconsciously makes his way through the woods of the Enchanted Forest. He finds that the air is surprisingly chilled on this particular night.

Graham finally arrives at the Queen's castle and as he enters he removes the hood from his head. He continues to make his way farther inside when he suddenly hears a noise from behind him. Graham whirls around to see what it could possibly be and is surprised by what he finds.

"Emma?" The blonde Princess is standing a few feet in front of him, staring at him disappointed. "What are you doing here?" He didn't even sense her behind him, he must have been far more engrossed in his thoughts than he imagined. Normally his senses are much sharper about this kind of stuff. "I could ask you the same thing." A fleck of hurt can be heard in her voice as she speaks. Graham's mouth hangs slightly open unsure of what to say.

"You were acting strange today, so when I saw you sneak out I followed you. But I never expected you to come here, to _this_ place. I trusted you! I can't believe you would do this." Her words cut through him like knives, he's utterly guilt stricken. He's gone out and hurt the one person he cares about the most. This is exactly what he was trying to avoid doing all along.

"Emma, please let me explain!" Graham begs and reaches out for her arm but she swiftly jerks it away. "Don't even bother." She says coldly while turning away from him. "All this time you were working for her? So everything, all of it, it was all just a lie?"

He shakes his head. "No. Emma, that isn't true. You have to believe me. Please!" Graham is pleading with her at this point, his desperation becoming ever apparent. He needs her to believe him, she needs to know that his feelings and how he felt with her have always been true. But Emma still refuses to listen to him, she's never felt so betrayed before. She blames herself for getting this close to someone.

Emma storms down the hallway and Graham rushes after her, still desperate to get her to listen. Suddenly a puff of black smoke appears in front of them causing both of them to come to a halt. As the smoke clears, the Evil Queen is seen standing before them.

Her eyes land on Emma and she gives a pleased grin. "Well this isn't exactly what I asked for but this will do just fine." The sound of her heels on the stone floor echo through the room as she advances towards them. Graham steps protectively in front of Emma as the Queen approaches. "I won't let you hurt her!" Emma stares at him a bit surprised by is actions, especially after what she has just learned. Is he really protecting her? But doesn't he work for this woman? She doesn't understand.

"Playing knight now are we? No matter. I no longer have any needs for your services." The Queen raises up her right hand which causes Graham to lift off the ground. Shoving her hand forward, he finds himself being pushed back until his body makes contact with the wall. When she releases him he slides down to the ground with a groan of pain, his hood flops over his head in the process.

"Graham!" Emma worriedly shouts out. She tries to rush over to him but a swift gust of wind sends her flying back a few feet. The Queen looks over at Emma then back at Graham. "She gave you a name? How appropriate." She says with a smirk as she makes her way towards him.

Leaning dangerously close to his face she grins manically before asking, "She doesn't know your little secret yet does she?" Graham's eyes go wide and he swallows hard. _'Not here, not now. Not in front of her.'_ His eyes dart over towards Emma then back at the Queen.

The woman leans down and rips the necklace from around his neck. Holding it above her head, she crushes the object in the palm of her hand. The necklace fragments fall at her feet and she crushes them with the toe of her boot. "I'm disappointed in you Huntsman. You always had such potential, you would have made an ideal right hand man. But then you had to go and get soft."

Brushing her hands together, she shakes off the dust that was on them from destroying the necklace. Graham pushes himself off the wall and lunges towards her. The Queen however is too quick and within seconds he's once again pinned against the wall. A pained sigh escapes from his lips.

Emma watches in panic, her mind racing. If she doesn't do something Graham could be in some serious trouble. She looks around her for something, anything that could be useful. As she scans the room her eyes land on a mirror sitting nearby.

"Now which would be more entertaining..." The Queen muses, tapping her finger against her chin. "Having the Princess watch me destroy you or having you watch as I destroy her. Oh the choices." Graham doesn't know what to do, she's far to powerful but he can't let her hurt Emma. If the Queen goes after him, then maybe at least Emma could escape.

"If you want a heart so bad then take mine!" His sentiment echoes about the room, even more so with his hood up and everything seems like it goes silent. Emma stares at him dumbfounded and astonished. The Queen arches an eyebrow, intrigued by his offer. "It that so? Very well."

She steps closer to him, her hand positioned ready to extract the heart. Emma refuses to play the damsel in distress here, so while the Queen is distracted Emma reaches for the mirror she spotted earlier. She hasn't the slightest idea how it might help but she can feel that somehow it will.

"I don't think so!" Emma shouts startling the other woman. As the Queen turns towards her, the mirror suddenly begins to glow, creating a vortex which starts to pull her in. Despite her attempts to flee, the force is much stronger and drags the Queen directly into the mirror.

The room goes blindingly bright for a moment then once again returns to normal. As Emma turns the mirror around the Evil Queen pounds against the glass of it, trapped inside. The Princess grins smugly at the sight. "Consider this payback for everything you've done to me and my family." Emma says proudly.

The Queen snorts at the comment. "Don't think you've seen the last of me!" She threatens the girl. "Yeah whatever." The woman vanishes as the inside of the mirror clouds and Emma puts down the mirror.

"Graham we did it!" She exclaimed cheerfully. But when she gets no response she turns to look over at him. "Graham?" He's kneeling in the corner of the room, hood still up over his head. She walks over to where he is and kneels down in front of him. Reaching her hands up, she pulls his hood back to reveal his face.

For the first time in her life Emma finds herself speechless. There is now a surprising change in his appearance. His facial features are somehow almost animal like in appearance, she's confused. Graham turns away from her in shame, his eyes cast down towards the ground. "I didn't want you to see me like this." He's waiting for her to run or do something upon seeing him like this, that's what everyone else had always done.

As she gathers her thoughts she finally manages to ask him, "How... How did this happen?"

Graham takes a deep breath and shuts his eyes as he prepares to explain. "When I was a child, my parents made a deal with a man of magic for something. But they didn't hold up there end of the arrangement and because of that, their punishment was to have their son look like this." He gestures to himself for a moment.

Shaking his head he continues, "To change me back, they could either fulfill their end of the deal or give back the item they received. As you can see, I wasn't important enough for them to do either. So instead... unable to deal with my appearance, they chose to abandon me in the woods. Luckily, a pack of wolves took me in and raised me. They became my family." Emma thinks back for a moment and realizes something, "So that wolf we saw in the woods, he was basically your..." She trails off and he finishes what she's thinking. "My brother yes."

Emma's expression softens as he tells his story. She had no idea about all that he's been through. He was hurt and betrayed by the two people who should have cared most about him. This also explains why he never had a name.

"But why were you working for the Queen?" She asks him as she attempts to get him to look up at her, but he continues to avoid doing so. Graham lets out a sigh, "That necklace that I wore, it suppressed the curse from taking effect. The Queen told me if I did what she said I could keep it. But I realized it wasn't worth it if it meant hurting you. That's why I came her tonight, to tell her I was done working for her."

Emma places her hand on his cheek and for the first time he lifts his eyes up to meet her gaze. The eyes she saw when she first met him, that were so wild and intense are now filled with such sadness and fear of rejection. The look in them breaks her heart.

"I'm sorry Emma..." Graham mumbles quietly. Emma shakes her head. All he wanted was to be accepted by people and the Queen had used that to her advantage. It was hard to stay mad at him, especially after everything that happened.

"You were really willing to sacrifice your own heart, to save mine?" She's still in disbelief that anyone would ever be willing to do that for her. Yet, Emma knew without a doubt that he really would. Not because he was knight protecting the royal family, but because he actually cared for her.

Then she does something unexpected, she leans up and kisses him. Which is the last thing Graham would have thought her to do. As there lips meet, he at first is extremely tentative but soon he relaxes in to it. The kiss is sweet and tender, it feels as if the world has suddenly shifted around him.

As they pull apart Emma suddenly has a surprised look on her face which worries him. He's now fearing that she's regretted kissing him. His voice shakes some as he asks "What? What's wrong?" Emma blinks a few times before answering. "Hold on a sec."

Scanning the room for a moment, she then grabs a reflective silver dish sitting nearby and holds it in front of him. "Look." Emma tells him. Graham does as she says and is shocked by what he sees, he looks exactly how he used to when he had the necklace. He touches his face with his hand as if to check if it's really true. "I don't understand. I don't have the necklace anymore, so why do I look like this?"

"That would be true love's kiss, dearies." A voice from a third party suddenly makes itself known. The two turn to find Rumplestiltskin standing there on the other side of the room. How he got there neither of them have the slightest clue. "It's the one thing that can break any curse." The man goes on to explain. Emma and Graham stare at each other for a moment then look away trying to hide the awkward blush creeping its way onto both of their cheeks. There's nothing like kissing someone for the first time and then being told right after that it was true love's kiss.

"If you want to keep your little excursion here just a secret between us, you best be getting back to the castle before your parents find out." With all that happened Emma completely forgot about the time. She would no doubt get reamed out by her parents by not only breaking curfew, but sneaking out to the Evil Queen's castle as well.

"We better get going." Emma said grabbing Graham's wrist as she stood up. As Graham got to his feet he followed behind her. "Thanks Rumple!" The young princess called over her shoulder as she and Graham dashed out of the Queen's palace and back to own their.

As they left Rumplestiltskin gave an amused laugh, "So it seems the boy finally broke my curse. Hm. Good for him."


	8. The Princess and The Huntsman

**A/N: Sorry this took so long! Anyway, so here we have it, the final chapter of The Princess's Knight. Thanks to all of you amazingly awesome readers out there for sticking with this story! Much love to you all. I've left some things open for a possible sequel, which I'll hopefully get around to writing. Either way you can still expect more Emma and Graham stories from me. **

**So now on to the chapter. Please enjoy!**

* * *

Emma and Graham had managed to sneak their way back to the castle unnoticed. Neither of them decided to mention to anyone what Emma had done to the Evil Queen, despite the fact that the young princess was very proud of that accomplishment. Even Rumpelstiltskin kept quiet on the matter, though likely because it would benefit him in some currently unknown way.

A few days later, word eventually swept the land of the Evil Queen's 'mysterious' disappearance. Emma and Graham feigned ignorance on the matter to avoid the young Princess from getting into any trouble. She'd do her best to hide her smug grin when the subject was brought up, though Graham would always catch it slipping out on the occasion, in which he resisted the urge to chuckle at her attempts to hide it.

So to be sure, Snow and Charming sent some of their guards to investigate her castle. Sure enough, there was no Evil Queen to be found. By the time they reached there, most of her guards had already abandon the palace. Along with that, the place had already been pilfered of various things by some rogue thieves who had also heard the news.

Little did Emma know however, one of the items stolen included the mirror itself that the Queen was trapped in. But as for what happened to it, that's a story for another day.

In honor of the disappearance of the Evil Queen, the one who had for years been after them and all they loved, the royal family decided to throw a ball to celebrate. Not surprising, Emma and her family weren't the only ones pleased about the Queen disappearing.

The night of the ball was at hand, and Graham stood at the bottom of the staircase in the bustling ballroom. He wore a long maroon colored jacket over a white buttoned up shirt, along with a pair of slacks that matched his jacket as well.

He wasn't exactly used to these sorts of clothes. But it was more comfortable than the armor that he usually had to wear, though not by much. Snow had managed to help get him some fancy clothes to use for the occasion since he had none of his own that would do for this type of thing.

The young knight fidgeted nervously as he waited, pacing ever so slightly back and forth. He felt terribly out of place. Everyone one else around him was a noble or royalty of some sort. Every now and again some confused stares would be sent his way, which he tried to ignore the best he could. Despite the clothes, he still couldn't pass for nobility by any means.

But all that didn't matter as Graham looked up to find Emma descending down the long staircase towards the ballroom. A smile crossed his face at the sight of her. She was wearing a beautiful white gown, with the edges of it embroidered with golden colored string. Her hair was partially pinned up, while the rest flowed down neatly over her shoulders.

"You clean up nicely." Emma said with an amused smile as she looked him over.

"You look breathing taking." Graham told her, unable to take his eyes off of her. She tried her best to hide her blush but failed. "Thank you." She said quietly, staring down at her shoes. Despite her strong willed personality, he had a tendency to make her feel so delicate at times.

"So... Mr. Huntsman, do you dance?" She asked curiously whilst raising her eyebrow at him. He casually shrugged, "Nothing fancy, but I can hold my own." Although he had never quite danced per se, being raised by wolves had made him rather quick on his feet and surprisingly graceful, which translated pretty well on the dance floor. Emma placed her gloved hands gently upon his shoulders, while he wraps his arms around her lower back.

Graham let out a content sigh. He had never thought in a million years he'd be happy like this. He had expected that he was forever doomed to roam the forest alone. Love was never something he thought would be in the cards for him.

But here he was, with this amazing woman who happened to care about him too. Who would have ever guessed a Huntsman could ever have a chance with a Princess.

On the other side of the ballroom, James and Snow watched from across the way as the young couple danced. Charming turned to Snow and asked, "Wait, when exactly did that happen?" as he pointed to his daughter and Graham together. His wife laughed and shook her head "Since the moment he came here. But to be more exact a couple of days ago."

Though Emma hadn't officially told her mother, Snow had already picked up on the shift in Emma and Graham's transition from friends to something romantic. It wasn't surprising in the least to her, she knew instantly that there was something there between those two.

Her husband stared at her with much confusion over this, which only made her laugh once again. "Honey, you really must be a little more perceptive." Sure his daughter and the knight had been hanging around each other a lot lately, but he hadn't exactly expected this. To James, Emma was still his little girl and found it rather hard to think of her otherwise.

That protective father nature of his kicks in and Snow puts a gentle hand on his arm to stop him, "Charming, you've got to let her grow up. He's a good boy, and he really cares about her. Just look." He looks over at his daughter and the young knight dancing together across the room, Emma was laughing at Graham's attempts to twirl her.

James isn't sure if he's ever seen her this happy before. Sighing, he decides to stay put. The king however does make a mental note that if the boy ever hurts his daughter that he has another thing coming. Turning to his wife, he offers her his hand "Care to dance?" Charming asks. She smiles in return, "I thought you'd never ask."

"You know normally I'm not a big fan of these fancy balls, but..." Emma said smiling up at her dance partner, "I'm rather fond of this one I must say." Graham smirked "And why is that?" He mused. She gave a teasing smile in return "Because we're serving cake."

Graham scoffed playfully, "Oh, so is that the only reason?" Emma laughed. "Uh huh." The princess grinned widely as he leaned down to give her a quick peck on the cheek.

The little display of affection caught the attention of many nearby guests, earning the two many surprised gasps and even a few appalled stares. Graham shifted uncomfortably as he noticed. "Sorry..." He mutters quietly, staring down at the floor. "I probably shouldn't have done that."

Emma shot a few glares over at the onlookers who quickly turned back to their dance partner. She then shook her head. "Don't be. Want to know a little secret most people don't know? My father wasn't born a Prince, he was actually a shepherd." Graham stared at her wide-eyed, shocked by the statement. He would have never guessed such a thing.

The girl nods "It's true. So who cares what they think. They can keep their arranged marriages and whatever." Emma wanted to be someone who married for love, not for some type of silly gain. She wanted the kind of love like her parents had.

"You much rather be happy, than to settle for something less than love." He stated. Emma nodded. "Exactly. My father always said love is something you fight for and I believe that." Graham had realized early on that Emma was far from your ordinary princess, not that he had actually met any princess prior to compare her to, but still. She had a certain quality about her that was just so unique.

Graham gently rested his forehead against hers. "Hey Emma,"

"Yeah Graham?" She responds.

"Are you happy?"

He can feel the smile spread across her face as she says "Yeah. I'm really happy."

Leaning up to look at him, Emma planted a kiss on him in front of everyone.


End file.
